The mayor of Dar es Salaam on Monday met with visiting producers of the torch relay for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games.

 

Mayor Adam Kimbisa shared with the visitors the desire of Dar es Salaam as well as Tanzania to render the Dar es Salaam section of the 130-day relay around the globe the most memorable among all the cities the Olympic Torch is scheduled to pass through.

 

"It's a very big opportunity not only to promote sports in Tanzania, but to promote tourism in the country and in Dar es Salaam as well," said the mayor.

 

Di Henry, 2008 torch relay producer, briefed the Dar mayor about the expected itinerary and the scope of local participation in the relay.

 

The Australian, who has got torch relay experiences from the 2000 Sydney Games, told local organizers of the event that a total of 80 people would participate in the six-hour relay that would negotiate through historical sites in the city.

 

Mayor Adam Kimbisa told Zhang Ming, torch relay director of the Beijing Organizing Committee, that his city and country would benefit more from the torch relay than vice versa.

 

The Olympic Torch is scheduled to arrive in Dar es Salaam from Buenos Aires of Argentina in South America and will leave the Tanzanian coastal city for Muscat of Oman to continue its relay before ending up in Beijing on August 8, 2008, for the opening ceremony of the 16-day sporting gala.

 

The torch relay is scheduled to start on April 1 of 2008 and to last 130 days in all, making it the longest Olympic Torch Relay in history.

 

The Olympic Torch is scheduled to relay through Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Asia again.

 

The Olympic Torch will relay through all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in China.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2007)